GRANTS 101

Jackie SteinDirector of Research Development

November 2016

Grants 101:

• Learn how grant funding works

• Develop an overview of the

proposal writing process.

• Assess if a grant is a good fit for you

and your research process.

• Learn to benefit from your

colleagues’ grant expertise.

• Find out how to get some of the

best grant training there is…

serve as a reviewer.

Research Development Team – We offer

strategic proposal development services for ODU tenure track and tenured faculty.

Review solicitation to ensure eligibility and match with project.

Support large/multi-disciplinary proposals.

Project/proposal planning.

Assistance identifying collaborators.

Review draft proposals to ensure solicitation requirements are addressed and clearly presented.

Intensive edits for correct language, usage, grammar and spelling.

‘Quick’ final edits.

Office of Research Proposal Support

Dan Campbell

College of Arts & Letters

Strome College of Business

Darden College of Education

Batten College of Engineering & Technology

College of Health Sciences

College of Sciences

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

Jackie Stein

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

Steve Landowne

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND

OUTREACH COORDINATOR:

GRANT DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS:

at

Lots of funding opportunities…

Which one

is right for

my project?

But first…

What are you looking for?

Be deliberate.Any road will get you there

if you don’t know where you’re going.

Funding Searches

It’s about “fit.”

Make sure your research

interests and goals align with

those of the funder.

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

General Information

Program Title:

Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) Instrument Acquisition or Development

Synopsis of Program:

1

The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering

instruments for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education, not-for-profit museums,

science centers and scientific/engineering research organizations. The program provides organizations with opportunities

to acquire major instrumentation that supports the research and research training goals of the organization and that may

be used by other researchers regionally or nationally.

Each MRI proposal may request support for the acquisition (Track 1) or development (Track 2) of a single research

instrument for shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use. Development efforts that leverage the strengths of private

sector partners to build instrument development capacity at MRI submission-eligible organizations are encouraged.

The MRI program assists with the acquisition or development of a shared research instrument that is, in general, too

costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. The program does not fund research projects or

provide ongoing support for operating or maintaining facilities or centers.

The instrument acquired or developed is expected to be operational for regular research use by the end of the award

period. For the purposes of the MRI program, a proposal must be for either acquisition (Track 1) or development (Track

2) of a single, well-integrated instrument. The MRI program does not support the acquisition or development of a suite of

instruments to outfit research laboratories or facilities, or that can be used to conduct independent research activities

simultaneously.

Instrument acquisition or development proposals that request funds from NSF in the range $100,000-$4 million may be

accepted from any MRI-eligible organization. Proposals that request funds from NSF less than $100,000 may also be

accepted from any MRI-eligible organization for the disciplines of mathematics or social, behavioral and economic

sciences and from non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education for all NSF-supported disciplines.

Cost-sharing of precisely 30% of the total project cost is required for Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education and

for non-degree-granting organizations. Non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education are exempt from cost-sharing

and cannot include it. National Science Board policy is that voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Please see the solicitation text for definitions of organizational types used by the MRI

program.

READ the

solicitation.

It usually

tells you!

Explore the

funder’s

website.

How does

the funder

describe its

overall

mission?

Who will

review

your

proposal?

What has

the funder

previously

supported?

Ask colleagues and mentors.

How can you learn even more

about the funder?

You must also consider:

The DEADLINE:

Funding amount:

Eligibility requirements:

Level of Principle Investigator experience expected:

Is it feasible?

Is it enough, but not too much?

Are you eligible?

Are you qualified, but not

overqualified?

Timing is everything.

ODU faculty grant proposals are submitted

on behalf of the university by the

Email PreAward @odu.edu with information about your

grant project, and a Grants and Contracts Administrator

(GCA) will be assigned to work with you.

GCAs provide invaluable help with budgets, complete grant forms, and submit proposals.

J.Stein2016

AVOID11th-hour

Proposal

Submissions

Plan ahead to prevent problems like…• The stress of an impending deadline, which can contribute to

errors.

• Other proposals are likely to be ahead of yours in the queue.

• ODU’s transmission systems could go down.

• No time for an appropriate review by the GCA.

• The department chair or dean may not be available to

provide required signatures.

Your completed proposal is

DUE to Pre-award

at least 5 business days before

the funder’s deadline.If that deadline is not met, the Research Foundation

cannot guarantee on-time submission.

Understand how the final grant will be

submitted… format, page limits and

character count.

Identify all grant components – including

‘extras’ like letters of support, data

management plans, etc.

Prepare an outline using the headings

given.

GET READY TO WRITE:

Include

directions and

criteria for

selection in the

writing outline:

Use section headers provided by the funder.

Organize sections in the order given in the

RFA.

Check the criteria and make sure you address

them fully in the appropriate section(s).

Get someone else to read your grant – choose

someone representative of the proposal

audience if possible.

GET READY TO WRITE:

Become a reviewer!

You don’t always need to have had funding to serve on a Review Panel.

Try volunteering to review with professional organizations, foundations, or mock review panels, and sign up online.

When you look at grants from the perspective of the reviewer, everything makes more sense!

Secrets of Success

UPCOMING INTRAMURAL RESEARCH FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Faculty Proposal Preparation Program (FP3)Award of up to $10,000 for one

calendar year.

Provides academic colleges with funding towards the cost of a course release for faculty members who will develop and submit high-quality, competitive proposals to external funding during either the Fall or Spring semester. • Each dean may nominate up to two tenure-track or tenured

faculty members for the FP3 program per semester. • Faculty members should have well-defined projects.• Supports one PI, who receives funding of up to $3,000 towards

the cost of a course release, disbursed to the college.• Due to Orintermural@odu.edu by Friday, 1/19/2017

Junior Faculty Research Mentoring Program (JFRMP)Award of up to $10,000 for one

calendar year.

Supports ODU faculty-to-faculty mentoring, pairing a senior faculty member who has with a strong track record of extramural funding with a junior tenure-track faculty member who wants to be mentored and commits to submitting a competitive funding proposal at the end of the mentoring period. • Eligibility: Tenure-track assistant professor with fewer than 4

years at this rank, 2 years from a tenure decision. Supports one mentee and one mentor who is a senior faculty member with a strong record of external funding.

• For one academic year; meeting weekly.• Mentee receives up to $3,000 towards the cost of a course

release in Fall or Spring, disbursed to department & up to $500 to visit a program officer. Mentor receives up to $3,000 for research-related activities, disbursed to department.

JANUARY

19

2017

FEBRUARY

27

2017